3 Month Break From Finasteride, 10 Years On The Drug, Shedding Like Crazy

[memoryboy]

I'm 34 and been taking Propecia and the last year generic finasteride for 10 years.

I have recently taken a 3 month break from Propecia/Finasteride.

I want to start taking Finasteride again but I'm in between and a bit scared. Also thinking whether it's now too late. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I was diagnosed with Prostatitis in the beginning of last fall and sperm count was very low. I wanted to see how big effect finasteride had on it. I had also taken finasteride for so long and I had read it could affect all sorts of things and also the drug wasn't temporarily available in my country, so I decided to take a break, to see how it is. Big mistake!

I had maintained everything I had in this 10 years and even had some regrowth in the hairline.

After quitting, I first got an itch in the temples and forehead and noticed I have lost some ground there a few weeks after quitting. Now 3 months after quitting I'm shedding like crazy all over the place and have definitely lost a lot from my hairline and thinned from all over.

I'm quite depressed for it and thinking to jump back on the drug? Should I?
Can I still stop and reverse it? It's too crazy to go from full head of hair to bald in 6 months.

On the upside, my morning erections are back. They have been missing for a while. I have slightly stronger erections and I even think my dick looks slightly fuller in flacid state. I might be imagining things.
My ejaculatory volume is slightly bigger and have more strength in it.

Also, I'm dreaming a lot more and remembering my dreams. That is a bit scary as that might show blocking 5α-Reductase inhibitors could have more effect than just that, as some people say it might affect GABA and other things in the brain. Then again, the dreams could also mean that I'm just stressed. It has happened before that I dream more when I'm stressed.

Here's my measurements.

On finasteride this fall.

FSH 6.7 (1.5 ... 12.4 U/L)
LH 3.93 (1.70 ... 8.60 U/L)
Free androgen index (FAI) > 100.00 ↑ (35.00 ... 92.60 %)
S-SHBG 20.90 (18.30 ... 54.10 nmol/L)
Testosterone 22.49 (11.40 ... 27.90 nmol/L)
Oestradiol 121.8 (>223.0 pmol/L)

After finasteride shortly after.

FSH 8.2 (1.4 – 18.1 lU/l)
LH 3.78 (1.5 – 9.3) lU/l)
Free androgen index (FAI) 15 – 95 (71.47)
S-SHBG 24 (17 – 66 nmol/l)
Testosterone 17.1 (8.4 – 28.7 nmol/L)
Oestradiol 125.2 (>146.0 pmol/L)

3 months after finasteride.

Testestorone 14.4 nmol/l...................8-29 nmol/l
Oestradiol 118.7 pmol/ll..................<146 pmol/l
SHBG 22 nmol/l
TSH 3.33 mlU/l...........................0,40-4,00
Prolactin: 192 mlU/l....................53-360
Progesterone (P4): 1.72 nmol/l.............<4.11
FSH 8,1 IU/l..........................1,4-18,1
LH 4,37 IU/l..........................1,5-9,3
S-DHEAS 8,3........................0,9-15,4
Cortisol 331 nmol/l................138-690
FT4 15,08 pmol/l....................11,5-22,7
FT3 5,60 pmol/l.......................3,5-6,5

I'm afraid that my testestorone dropped a lot after being off from finasteride. I've read it should only drop by 15-20% but mine has dropped a lot more. Estrogen was high, has dropped a little but is still high.

So I'm totally buzzled whether I should jump back on it or not. I don't want to cause persistent or permanent damage to myself. But I also wish I would have never stopped taking the drug. Not at least in my 30s.

I'm really depressed on the sudden hardcore shedding. It's really like experiencing sudden accute hairloss in my 20s again.

I didn't really have more very noticeable side effects other than ejaculatory volume and strength and watery semen.

Help to make up my mind

 

[memoryboy]

Maybe start with 0,25 mg of finasteride now?
Although I've heard that anything above 0,005mg reduced DHT by 60%

 

[smyth01]

Sorry this has happened man. Must be heartbreaking losing ground so quickly after years of success. Unfortunately taking a break from finasteride is a big no no, of course in your case and some others, its something that has to be done.

Ive read about people stopping and restarting the stuff, and it seems to always end the same way. They jump back on, its not as effective, they keep losing ground, then quit permanently. Its almost like the damage has already been done.

 

[memoryboy]

For a lot of people it's not any more effective when restarting?

I've also read people have stabilized and regrew what's lost in a year.

 

[memoryboy]

Huhh..

After quitting the drug in January I developed a penile fibrosis kind of symtoms. They kind of lessened and I thought and hoped they're going away. Di.n't notice as much,

But just after thinking I should start finasteride again yesterday, I popped a 0,5mg pill and woke up today with the penile fibrosis symptoms back and possibly even more than before.

f*** this...

Is there anything else I can take besides finsteride?
Revivogen, S5 cream, topical saw balmentio, vitamins, nizoral.
Any other topical? I'm not sure if I can handle RU as it might have the same problems?

I'm already using Nizoral and ordered my Revivogen.
I know finasteride is the best for hairloss but seems I cannot mess with it any more.
It looks like I was mostly fine for the time I took it, but after quitting or taking a break, problems occured.

shedding like crazy still.

 

[g.i joey]

Hey op, don't mean to ask such a descriptive question, but what does "penile fibrosis" look or feel like?

 

[memoryboy]

I'm not sure if I have it but any case it really seems quite a coincidence that it developed right after quitting when I had some hormonal shift going on and drop in T levels etc, then lessened/diminished after a while and after I popped another pill to start again yesterday, it came back.

The doctor last week didn't think I have it, that I just have veins out.
But I know my own damn dick and it certainly feel something is wrong..
last week on an appointment, it was just then it has diminished and in a flaccid state, you don't really see it that much. On erect state, I definitely can see the curve and feel it pulling to the right. Visually it's visible too and I see kind of scar like tissue and it also pulls forescing a bit abormally. I also feel hard tissue. It's also a bit painful.

Fuckin scary.
I guess there's treatment available but really, wtf??

Even if some side effects can be brought on by nocebo effect and worring then I don't think this can.

The disease is characterized by a hard, fibrous layer of scar tissue (plaque) that usually develops under the skin on the upper or lower side of the penis. When the penis is erect, the scar tissue pulls the affected area off at an angle, causing a curved penis. The plaque, formed by thickened layers of erectile tissue, is noncancerous (benign).

I'll be seeing another doctor next week.
The doctor I saw last week has a good reputation and he is really the first andrologist in my country. But he has always preached finasteride is perfectly safe and denies anything bad or persistent can come form it.
I'm not saying those thing happen by most part, I guess now. But after all the stuff going on and seen online, one also cannot deny it. It's even on new side effects papers.

 

[michel sapin]

you don't have baseline values ? despite the drop of testosterone ( that i also experimented when i dropped propecia ) , your value are normal .

so you lose hair where you have the itchy feeling ? do you have an itchy crown now ?

 

[memoryboy]

unfortunately I didn't have tests made when I started finasteride 10 years ago.
I had no idea then that I would have needed to get them made.

yeah, I have an itchy scalp now.

it's always been like this for me, as soon as the scalp gets itchy and I cannot treat it properly with something soon enough, I will loose hair soon.
that's how it also started 10 years ago.

I was having troubles with scalp also while I was teenager, had dandruff. And I have seborrhoeic dermatitis on my face too. It's hardly coming out though, maybe these days 1-2 a year max and is always mild and easily treatable. But it's an autoimmune disease and I cannot get fully rid of it I guess.

I know this is rare, but I started to think if I might have frontal fibrosing alopecia. I read that it might go alongside with male pattern baldness (I have that too to some extent for sure, maybe to a large extent). So maybe there's different things going on there. I mean if I would have normal androgenic alopecia, would it then go with this itchy, redness and flaky skin? I mostly get this in the hairline.

It's just when i loose hairline, than the skin where hair use to be always comes out this kind of smooth, like scarred, like different.

The weird thing is, at the moment I'm even loosing some hair in my scruff/nape area. Shouldn't that be not affected with DHT?

I can imagine stress is also at least partly to blame now. I mean, I'm stressed out for my health and looks right now.

 

[memoryboy]

I'm too worried to pop a pill now after these changes on my dick.

At least not until I have an appointment with new doctor next week. In 5 days.
And also have a mammograph on the 27th to make sure I def don't have gyno.
To me it feels a bit weird. Doctor didn't think I have but said, I can have it checked.

Also, waiting for these results still....

Androgen/Estrogan ratio......still waiting for the result
DHT......still waiting for the result
Free testestorone......still waiting for the result
Bioavailable Testosterone......still waiting for the result
3-alpha-diol G 5AR-II activity......still waiting for the result

 

[memoryboy]

yeah. but that sh*t started just after quitting (or taking a break) from finasteride in January and when I had hormonal changes.
it kind of subsided and just when I popped another pill yesterday after more than 2 months. Boof, it's back...
I know it's not officially stated as side effect but I see people reporting this. Kinda crazy coincidence.

Hormonal inbalances and hormonal deficiencies are common cause for it as I read.

 

[memoryboy]

Thanks again @ForeverLacey, you're a doll!

I have been avoiding alcohol and smoking the last months, so that cannot be it.

I hope when i have it, I have a mild case and more easily treatable.
The guys over at Propepeciahelp and other finasteride sideeffect sites report this quite a lot.
And this doctor seems to agree.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pfsglo...goldstein-shares-the-truth-science-behind-pfs
http://www.sandiegosexualmedicine.com/
If other possible side effect things might have been manageable, then this is for me a bit too scary, to pop another pill now, at least not before I have another doctor appointment.

Also, I've been thinking that not having nocturnal and morning erections for years might have not be too positive effect to the body. I didn't even think of it. I'm having them now, at least the morning ones.

The shady thing is, noone really seem to kno anything about finasteride in my country besides my one doctor, but he is 100% positive about it.
Even if it's an effective drug, no denying that, one cannot overrule it's possible dangers.

But yeah, I wish I had never quit, not at least not quit now.

Any other treatment that i could buy some time with before I decide whether I'll jump on finasteride again?
Any topical? Revivogen claims to have some DHT blocking effect, or that's mostly scam?

Worst case, if could get it stabilised (I hope), i could do a transplant in the front and I'd be fine again.

I was an avid finasteride used for 10 years and didn't have much problems before.

 

[Alk]

Penile fibrosis is physical, did you hurt your dick lately, like while having sex. If not it could be from finasteride id suggest you stop at that point and look at your options which is basically things like contraptions you put on your penis and things like penis pumps eith specific exercises. It could also recover itself in like half the cases.

 

[Alk]

If penis fibrosis is the same as Peyronies Disease then it's an auto immune disease and has nothing to do with hormones.. It's the same as Dupreytrens Contracture, basically the body thinks it's injured and keeps creating scar tissue which causes the penis to bend.

Its not really an autoimmune disease, people with autoimmune disease tend to develop it.

 

[memoryboy]

No, I haven't hurt it lately.

 

[Alk]

That's because it is an auto immune disease silly.

Its just the name for the scar tissue but a lot of men develope it from simply slipping out and smashing their man parts into something else without a hole. Terrible really

 

[Alk]

No, I haven't hurt it lately.

Then google is your friend, look up peyronie's disease and such. Unfortuntley youll realize that finasteride is linked to it and theres a class action thats been happening, its just rare. I wouldnt play around with it though. If your willy was straight and now its curved and you feel a hard tissue its looking like the beggining of peyronies and the first like six months of realizing this is the best time to take action because ut can be significatly reduced or healed.

 

[Alk]

He does have an auto immune history and he didn't break it.

Ah, Didnt know that. regardless op you should go to the urologist and talk to he or she. Its best to take action immediatly with that and i wouldnt suggest aggravating it with finasteride unless you dont care about your sex life. Its best to try and fix the issue early.

 

[memoryboy]

thanks @Alk.
Yes, I have another appointment next Tuesday with a new doctor.

my last doctor denied I have it. But I had a lot of issues I wanted to discuss and he kind of just overlooked it. He felt my willy but on flaccid state one cannot really feel it. I've heard they sometime inject you with something to have it erect and then examine it. Huh, bloody hell I say
And it wasn't as bad as it is now, after popping another pill of finasteride.
It certainly had an effect on it.

Not to say I would not have it without finasteride, but it might have a relation.

Someone here put it rightly, that our creator must have really had a laugh when he/she/it/theuniverse arranged all this. Ok, let's say 25% males will loose hair and so also their sexual marketplace value. They can mess with their hormones and potentially keep the hair, but they risk messing up the one reason they want to keep their hair anyhow.

 

[Alk]

thanks @Alk.
Yes, I have another appointment next Tuesday with a new doctor.

my last doctor denied I have it. But I had a lot of issues I wanted to discuss and he kind of just overlooked it. He felt my willy but on flaccid state one cannot really feel it. I've heard they sometime inject you with something to have it erect and then examine it. Huh, bloody hell I say
And it wasn't as bad as it is now, after popping another pill of finasteride.
It certainly had an effect on it.

Not to say I would not have it without finasteride, but it might have a relation.

Someone here put it rightly, that our creator must have really had a laugh when he/she/it/theuniverse arranged all this. Ok, let's say 25% males will loose hair and so also their sexual marketplace value. They can mess with their hormones and potentially keep the hair, but they risk messing up the one reason they want to keep their hair anyhow.

Dont quite try and get reffered to a willy specialist, sometimes a doctor wont find the plaque because its not really hard yet or just in deep tissue.